“The security forces of Uzbekistan unjustifiably used lethal force and other excessive retaliation to crack down on mostly peaceful demonstrations in Karakalpakstan on July 1 and 2, 2022,” Human Rights Watch said. They called on the authorities of Uzbekistan to immediately reconsider approaches to the use of certain types of grenades by law enforcement agencies in the context of controlling mass gatherings of people.
The security forces’ response included the unwarranted use of small arms and various types of grenades, which could cause serious injury and death if precautions were not taken. At least 21 people died, including 4 law enforcement officers; over 270 people were injured.
HRW firmly believes that Uzbekistan should conduct an independent investigation into these events, including in relation to the actions of the security forces. The government must urgently reconsider how law enforcement agencies use certain types of grenades in the context of crowd control.
“Many people in Karakalpakstan were killed in July, hundreds were injured; some of them were horribly injured,” said Hugh Williamson (Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch). “Uzbekistan is indebted to the victims and is obliged to conduct a proper investigation in order to establish all the circumstances of the incident and bring to justice those responsible for gross violations.”
Human Rights Watch staff and experts verified 55 videos of protests. We analyzed 31 videos and 30 photographs of dead and wounded demonstrators and used special equipment and weapons, filmed by participants or eyewitnesses of the events in Nukus (the capital of Karakalpakstan) and other adjacent cities of the republic and posted on social networks from July 1 to August 1.
HRW noted the ineffectiveness of the parliamentary commission set up on 15 July. It consisted of 14 people: officials, deputies, representatives of civil society and experts. Feruza Eshmatova, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Oliy Majlis [the Senate], heads the Commission. The Commission hasn’t yet made public its conclusion and hasn’t set any deadlines. HRW concludes that ‘there is no indication that this Commission is investigating deaths and serious injuries or the actions of members of the security forces during the events, including the special equipment and weapons they used’.
“The government’s reaction to the July events will show whether Uzbekistan has really turned the page and is serious about respect for human rights and the rule of law,” says Hugh Williamson. “The authorities shouldn’t shy away from bringing to justice the security forces involved in the death and injury of so many people.”
According to the ACCA expert, ‘the authorities, in fact, expected riots in the country on various occasions, but the events in Karakalpakstan still took them by surprise.’
After signing by the President, the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Responsibility came into force on October 5, 2021, toughening the punishment for resisting a representative of the authorities. As ACCA previously wrote, the Senate approved the law without public details.
ACCA, in its publication last year, noted how President Mirziyoyev, by his decree, returned the country to the era of Karimov’s style totalitarianism. The ban includes criticism of the President and the state; criminal liability for a public call for mass riots (imprisonment up to 5 years) is fixed.
New legislative acts should stop possible popular unrest. During the period 2018-2020, 742 people were convicted for active resistance to representatives of the authorities. A month before the presidential elections in 2021, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs spread the news in the local media about the purchase of electroshock devices – stun guns, batons and pistols. Along with this, dozens of vehicles for transporting detainees and other special equipment were purchased to disperse rallies and demonstrations.
